Our CSA member Denise from Centerville has shared some of her favorite recipes for using up her CSA box full of beautiful (if copious) spring greens. Read on for some yummy inspiration, notes from Denise are italicized. My favorite thing about her style (and a good trait of a CSA chef) is not being afraid to substitute what a recipe calls for with what is fresh and in season! Cheers to eating Out of the Box!

Pasta with Greens and Ricotta from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, 1994)

While the water heats, rinse the watercress and chard well, shake off any excess water, and chop coarsely. Saute the garlic in the oil for a minute, until soft and golden, taking care not to scorch it. Add the damp greens and saute, stirring often, until they are wilted but still bright green. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and remove from the heat. In a blender, puree the cooked greens with the ricotta until smooth and evenly colored. Add more salt & pepper to taste.

When the water boils, stir in the pasta, cover and return to a boil. Then uncover the pot and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and immediately toss it with the sauce in a warmed serving bowl. Top with Parmesan or crumbled ricotta salata, tomatoes and/or toasted nuts.

Spinach Ricotta Pie from Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen, 1992)

Crust for one pie shell

Filling:

1 Tbsp butter/margarine

1 cup minced onion

1 lb. Spinach, stemmed and finely chopped (really, any mix of greens is great! And this uses up a lot of the CSA bags-o-greens)

½ tsp salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tbsp fresh)

1 lb. Ricotta cheese

2 or 3 beaten eggs

3 Tbs flour

½ cup (packed) grated sharp cheese of your choice

a dash of nutmeg (optional)

optional topping:

1 cup sour cream (lowfat is OK), lightly beaten

paprika

(Assemble the crust recipe of your preference, I like the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s crust recipe.)

Preheat oven to 375F. Melt the butter or margarine in a medium-sized skillet, add the onion, and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add spinach, salt, pepper & basil and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat.

Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Spread into the unbaked pie shell. For an extra rich pie, top with sour cream spread to the edges of the crust. Dust generously with paprika.

Bake 40 – 45 minutes, or until firm to the touch at the center. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Happy Wednesday! Our greens really loved the spring-like weather of the past few weeks, they grew like crazy! Your spicy salad mix, spinach, claytonia, and kale are all harvested from the greenhouse, so they are very tender and would be excellent raw. The brussels sprouts were harvested from our garden Saturday morning before the extreme cold, they are so sweet! Just pluck them from the stalk prior to cooking.

You’ll notice we left the tops on your rutabaga and black radishes this week. They are excellent for sauteeing, steaming or braising. The rutabaga greens are reminiscent of broccoli. Black radishes are quite spicy! We were drooling daydreaming about stir frying them with the joi choi. We hope you enjoy your shares this week…plenty of greens to keep you feeling great and nourished!

Don’t forget to double check that you are taking the right size share when you pick up your box; the brightly colored sticker on the side will indicate whether a share is small or large!